SINT MAARTEN/MIAMI – Glen Carty, Co-Owner of the Laser 101 Radio Group received an award on Wednesday. The Award was presented by the National Hurricane Conference and reads as follows: "For your outstanding efforts on behalf of the residents of St. Maarten during Hurricane Irma, which included, but was not limited to, keeping them informed about critical information, before, during and after the storm”.

Carty thanked his fellow colleagues of Laser 101 storm watch team, the other stakeholders that worked along with Laser 101 and the listeners both locally, regionally and across the world streaming Laser 101 on the World Wide Web.

He made a special recognition to the Director of the St. Maarten Metrological office, Mr. Joseph Isaac, who was in the audience during the awards presentation, Mr. Isaac also attended the four day conference in Orlando, Florida.

The working relationship of the crew of the Storm Watch Team and the local met office is of extreme importance during the hurricane season and especially during the passing of storms. He thanked Isaac and his team for their professionalism and dedication.

Laser 101 activates its Storm Watch Team at the beginning of the hurricane season which starts June 1st and ends November 30th. During the passing of the storms, the team actually continues 24 hours around the clock and as long as they are needed. Broadcasting and Disaster management is a passion that makes Laser's Storm Watch Team successful.

We have been doing this from 1995 and every single season since then. The information we give is not only relaying the weather reports and the discussions surrounding that, but also relevant information about preparedness, healthcare, preparations regarding your pets, information from utility companies, airlines and whatever information is needed.

The outpour of responses from the community, post-hurricane Irma, have been incredibly positive. A citizen made the following online statement "If it wasn't for Glen Carty, his daughter Jennifer and the rest of the Storm Watch Team, the passing of the hurricane would have been so much worse for many of us. They gave us the sense of hope, understanding and security”. Another online statement read: “Carty and his team played a critical role for everyone on the island in the most challenging of times”.